"Tonight, we will honor the greatest writers in America with a modest 9 by 12 certificate and a check for three thousand dollars...three thousand dollars? Stephen King makes more than that for writing boo on a cocktail napkin." - Jimmy Breslin

no one understands more than I the frustration about being powerless to stop big government and so forth but come on, this lady was not a poweful person and big goverment was just about as big a few years ago when all republicans were in charge and no one shot at them for it.

I doubt this was truly political, somebody just wanted to get his name on the news. From the article, it sounds as if Giffords was making a public appearance. Shooting spree + political angle = 15 minutes of fame for the shooter.

Very sad. I have strong political opinions, but I still pray every day for the safety of our elected leaders. A popular Arizona judge was one of those killed in the attack, which took 6 lives and wounded 18 more, according to the latest story. The Congresswoman was shot clean through the head, but has survived thus far and the doctors were cautiously optimistic that she would recover.

I hope that neither side exploits this for political purposes; it's a tragedy for all concerned and for our country.

In the aftermath of the Giffords’ shooting, a debate over heated political rhetoricHas the country's increasingly heated political rhetoric gotten dangerously out of control?

That's the debate in the aftermath of Saturday's shooting rampage in Arizona, that left 6 dead and 14 others wounded, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The Arizona congresswoman remains in a medically induced coma after being shot at point-blank range in the head by 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner.

While Loughner's exact motives remain unknown, the shooting quickly set off a back and forth about the toxic tone of the nation's political discourse and whether it may have played a role in the attack.

On Saturday, Arizona authorities suggested that's a theory they are pursuing.

"There's reason to believe that this individual may have a mental issue. And I think people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol," Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said in a news conference Saturday. "People tend to pooh-pooh this business about all the vitriol we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. That may be free speech, but it's not without consequences."

The sheriff's comments echoed remarks Giffords herself made last year during the height of the 2010 midterm elections. In an interview with MSNBC last March, the Democratic lawmaker, who had been the target of threats over her vote on health care reform, noted her inclusion on list of lawmakers Sarah Palin was targeting for defeat that featured gun-related imagery. "The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district," Giffords said at the time. "When people do that, they have got to realize there are consequences to that action..."

Folks, our country has ALWAYS been politically polarized. Read your history. One side always says that the continued, or perspective, rule of the other will lead to ruin, damnation, economic disaster, uncle abuse, and dog hickeys.

It's actually MORE civil now than it was throughout most of the 19th century.

Both sides need to just quit the finger pointing. The young man was a NUT, period.

"So it begins"? You think you're educating somebody? We live now. In the wake of September 11, 2001, the birthdate of that young girl murdered. It ain't about left or right, but about killing with guns. Or maybe just killing. BUT, that story was meant to have legs, or not. Your commentary is superfluous; this is the 21st century. I agree the murderer was a "nut" though I prefer "nobody" With LOVE, AHD.

Folks, our country has ALWAYS been politically polarized. Read your history. One side always says that the continued, or perspective, rule of the other will lead to ruin, damnation, economic disaster, uncle abuse, and dog hickeys.

It's actually MORE civil now than it was throughout most of the 19th century.

Both sides need to just quit the finger pointing. The young man was a NUT, period.

Yeah, and it was wrong back then too.

It's inappropriate to use gun-related imagery when talking about defeating political opponents. It displays a lack of sensitivity and tact (particularly in America, which has probably had more political leaders shot in the post-World War II era than any other western republic), regardless of whether and how it influences people.

I'd agree I find it difficult to believe such tactics had much influence on the person in question here though.

Nutjobs are just gonna do nutty things, which occasionally includes shooting at public figures for no apparent reason. It's evil and wrong, no matter when it happens.

The point I was trying to make, which AHD gently took me to task for, is just this:Political polarization is NOT worse than it's ever been. If anything, we handle our diferences, for the most part, a little better now than we did when our nation was young. But we have a fairly high percentage of unstable and dangerous citizens who probably should be institutionalized, and are not. Thus our high level of violence happens.

My father told me about the incident. He claims the assassin is some insane conspiracy theorist who thinks the government is mind controlling us by controlling the English language. I don't know if it's true but I wouldn't be surprised.

The biggest tragedy was that he killed civilians in the cross-fire. I can understand why he'd want to kill a political official, but getting innocents involved and killing a little girl is uncalled for.